Alicia, looking back up at DZ and then down at her notes with a thoughtful expression on her face every so often, catches the strain first precisely because she wasn't watching for normal signs of flawed magecraft.  "Shit, that's not - DZ, you're overtaxing yourself right now, stop.  Please."

She pilots the bread crust the quarter-inch back down to the counter and sets its temperature back to ambient. "Yes ma'am."

(She really should have decided on a 'stop all ongoing effects' command beforehand; she'll do that now.)

"...That might be more of a problem than control issues.  You just don't...have enough throw-weight?  It's probably the same thing that's shown up in the heavy Light imbalance in your soul.  ...If I were to guess at mitigations, you need to cultivate in yourself a sense that - you have the right to tell the universe what to do, and not just the capability."

"I'm not sure what you mean, ma'am."

"...I'm not sure I do either.  But it's what I've got to explain why you're not - you have the depth of self, but you don't have the will to use it, and because of that when you pull the fabric of the universe apart to let in the raw unfettered possibility of change that is what magic is made of, it pulls back with a force you're not - not not willing to resist, but not desiring to.

"...If that makes sense."

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't make sense.  So let me try that again.

"...And if I have made an incorrect supposition in what I am about to say, I would like to apologize in advance.

"The problem you're having is that - as far as I can tell, you don't consider yourself meaningfully distinct from - from this rock."  ...Surely she wasn't just carrying that around the whole time -- oh.  It has a light spell, which she has just turned on.  That's not an unreasonable object to have, probably.  "But you are meaningfully distinct from a spellcasting object because you possess volition even as you try to distance yourself from the idea of actually exercising any.  And it's this contradiction that means the universe doesn't react to you as it should."

"Oh. Yes ma'am."

Deskyl, who has been watching quietly from the bed, signs.

"Master Deskyl would like to try something, ma'am, could you get a fresh piece of bread from the breadbox please?" And then DZ goes over to Deskyl, who carefully removes her hands and sets them next to herself on the mattress.

She can, sure.

And Deskyl signs for DZ to bring her the bread to eat, and she tries again.

This time it works better!

"...That's certainly a way of doing it," is about all Alicia can muster.  Sure, she knows DZ will be fine, but she still feels a little bit faint at the sight, for reasons she can't specify beyond vague speculation that they could be tied to nudity taboos if she squints.  "...Not sure I'd recommend it on an ongoing basis, but it did work.  So hopefully it'll replicate in other circumstances now."  Please put your hands back on, it's making me dreadfully nervous, what if something gets lost, she doesn't say.

Maria, on the other hand, blinks once at seeing the hands come off and then takes the following proceedings in stride.

Deskyl puts DZ's hands back promptly, of course, and then signs to her again while nibbling on the bread.

    "I can tell what was different between those circumstances but I don't think I can replicate it myself, ma'am," DZ reports to Alicia when Deskyl is done with her.

Alicia is still a bit distracted by Whatever The Fuck She Is Feeling Right Now and may need to reboot.

"I'm going to need a second to process.  Things.  Before I can actually think about anything properly, if you'll just - give me a moment, I'll be right back and we can pick that thought up then."

And with that said, she steps outside, letting the cold air smack her in the face in the hopes that it will settle her nerves.

That...just happened.

"...Ah, do you have an unused glass?  I have no idea what that was about, but I think her highness might benefit from having something to drink when she comes back in."

"Yes ma'am." She has the spare dishware organized neatly on one section of counter and can pour a glass of water to give to Alicia when she comes back in.

"Do you have any questions for us while she's gone? I can explain some of what we've been talking about if you'd like."

"...Nothing comes to mind that wouldn't be related to something that would be wildly impertinent for me to be asking about, but I suppose that if you want to try explaining all that gnomish jargon - well, knowledge is a priceless treasure, as Her Grace says."

"Yes ma'am. The underlying issue is that I'm not a biological creature, like a human is; I'm a machine, like a cart or a mill but much more complicated. Instead of being made of axles and gears, I'm made of lots of tiny magnets, that are activated by electricity and work together to do math; with enough math it's possible to make something that can think, very much like a human, and that's what I am. Does that make sense so far?"

"...I suppose."

"Master Deskyl or Master Alicia can probably demonstrate the basics, later, if you'd like, but the details don't matter very much. The part that seems to matter here is that, like any machine, I was designed by people to serve a purpose; in my case as a servant for Sith. I seem quite a lot like a person, because that makes it easier for people to understand how to use me, but -"

Deskyl interrupts her with a sign from the bed.

    "Master Deskyl says to tell you that I'm made not to think I'm a person because I'm a better tool that way, but she's seen plenty of evidence that I am one anyway. Though understanding that I was made to be convenient for other people, like a tool, is important to understanding me."

"...Right."  Now she's feeling a bit faint.  It's one thing to hear about this, and quite another to experience it.

Alicia pulls the door back open.  "...Okay, what did I miss?"

"DZ talking about herself, ma'am."

"...Ah."  That explains why Maria looks rather out of sorts.

"...What was it, that she said?"  She nudges Maria towards a chair.  She's pretty sure the other woman needs it.  And possibly that glass of water on the counter there.